How to Stay on Track During the Summer

By Danielle Omar, RDN

Summer = vacation, travel + roadtrips!

Travel-eating is a stickler for many of my clients. Whether it’s unfamiliar food, different time zones, or a busy, fun-filled schedule, changes to your normal routine can throw your hormones and digestive system a little off balance. 

This can happen before you even reach your final vacation destination – airports, gas stations, and highway fast food chains aren’t the best options for healthy eats. Offering mostly low quality foods and highly processed snacks and sweets, these places don’t do your weight, energy level, or immune system any favors. 

Bringing a few key FitFormula Wellness supplements with you can help maintain your gut health and immunity – no matter where you are. 

I always travel with probiotics, vitamin C, and melatonin. Digestion and sleep are the first things that get disrupted when I’m away from home. It’s like my body immediately knows when I board a plane or train!  

And now that vacation season is here, you might find yourself in the same boat. 

FitFormula Sleep Formula packets are perfect for travel and really help with jet lag and other sleep disturbances.

I also like to recommend Vitamin D when traveling by airplane. Vitamin D plays an important role in immunity and may protect against respiratory illnesses in general. There’s nothing worse than being sick on vacation!

To make your summer travel feel great on the inside and outside, let’s talk about what you can do before you leave, while you’re away, and when you get back home to stay on track. 

BEFORE VACATION

If you’re flying early in the day, make sure to eat breakfast the morning of your flight. If you can’t make this happen, bring something to eat inside your carry-on. And if you’re road-tripping, pack your lunch and healthy snacks in a cooler for in-car noshing. 

Pro Tip: Don’t wait until the morning of your trip to plan what you’ll eat. About a week before you leave, start thinking about what snacks or other foods you can stash in your suitcase or carry-on. That way, if you don’t have them on-hand you’ll have time to stock up at the grocery store.

My favorite portable snack ideas include: 

• Trail mix
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Peanut butter sandwich
• Vegetables with hummus or guacamole
• Avocado slices
• Apple with nut butter packs
• Energy bars
• Single-serve cheese
• Olive packs
• Blackberries and grapes
• Popcorn

Also before you leave, schedule a grocery delivery for the day you return from vacation. This will prevent unnecessary take-out or scrounging for food! You can even ask a family member or friend to grab some things for you at the grocery store and stock your fridge. 

DURING VACATION 

The main “issue” with vacation is that you’re often eating every meal at a restaurant or on-the- go. This is where you’ll want to have a strategy in place to help prevent you from making unhealthy choices. My philosophy for eating while away from home is pretty much the same for eating at home: plan ahead and choose wisely. 

My best advice for eating at restaurants on vacation is to eat as you would if you were home. If you wouldn’t normally eat fried chicken, don’t order it on vacation. I’m not saying you can’t indulge and enjoy your food, but you also don’t have to make every eating decision over-the-top. If you stop at the ice cream shop, don’t order the three-scoop sundae with every topping under the sun. Just get one scoop and enjoy every creamy bite. As with most things in life, less is more.

I also put a focus on eating consciously. When eating out, I peruse all the options first and then decide what my body truly wants at that moment. Oftentimes this is not what looks good at first glance or what other people are ordering. Eating from this conscious place helps me stay true to my health goals and makes eating more joyful. This means no regrets afterward, and no stomach upset from foods I don’t normally eat.

I also always feel better about myself if I do a little exercise every day while on vacation. If you can, rent bikes and explore the city, walk the boardwalk, explore the beach in the morning before everyone is awake, go for a hike, play beach volleyball, hit the tennis courts, take a yoga class, or just hit the gym for 30 minutes. There’s always time for a little movement in your day if you plan for it. 

AFTER VACATION

When you get home, it’s time to get back to normal. Again, having a stocked fridge waiting for you is super helpful, so don’t forget to place that food order before you go! It may also mean cutting back on some of the indulgences that became everyday occurrences while on vacation like alcoholic drinks, desserts, and eating out or grabbing fast food.  I love to do an herbal cleanse when I return from vacation and I avoid alcohol and eating out for at least a week to reset my habits (and my taste buds). 

I’ve also found that if I overeat on vacation, I tend to be a bit more hungry when I get back home. My hunger usually adjusts back to normal in a few days, but supplements like FitFormula's Slim Down Spray can help, too (it also works for road trips and long plane rides!)

Vacation doesn’t have to set you back mentally or physically. In fact, it can be the best time to really dial in on your health, well-being, and self care.